With a couple of exceptions, the rules and procedures for Lowball - whether Deuce-to-Seven or Ace-to-Five -- are the same as in Five-Card Draw. The main difference, of course, is that in Lowball, the lowest-ranked hand wins the pot at showdown.

Betting Structures

All versions of Lowball, like Five-Card Draw, can be played with antes, blinds, or both. The most common form of card room Lowball is to play with a small blind and a big blind. Sometimes even three blinds are used. Some local rules fatten the pot with antes as well.

In single-draw lowball, as in conventional five-card draw, there are only two betting rounds and one draw. No opponent's cards are ever revealed during play. As a result, action can be slow. By using blinds and antes, the house is trying to help to get things going early.

Lowball can be played in a Limit version (including Spread Limit) or in a Pot Limit or No Limit version. The use of blinds means, of course, that players must fold, call or raise on the first betting round. They can't simply check.

In Limit Lowball, raises are restricted to either three or four per round. Four raises is much more common in single-draw Lowball than in other games, so it is always important to check the House Rules. Usually the restrictions on the number of raises are either relaxed or abandoned in Pot Limit and No Limit Lowball.

Card room betting practices can vary widely. For example, under one set of rules, a player may stay in the game by merely calling the big blind (similar to Hold'em). In other card rooms, however, a player must raise the big blind (or call someone else's raise) in order to stay in the game.

Draw Structures

As implied by the names "Draw" and "Triple Draw," game variations can be offered that permit just one draw and two rounds of betting (just as in Five-Card Draw), or three draws and four rounds of betting (with a rhythm more like that of a Hold'em game).

In Single Draw the betting size doubles in the second round. In Triple Draw the betting size doubles in the third round. Rules specify that a player can draw from zero to five cards on each draw opportunity.

In single draw Lowball, five players can sit and play with maximum draws without exhausting a deck. In triple draw, that number limit is just three. Normally, however, six to eight players can be seated at the table. It is not unusual for more than half the table to hang in the game until the draw, as there is always a chance of sloughing the worst high cards and of undoing pairs. But at the draw it is somewhat unusual for a player to ask for more than three cards. Recall that the objective is not to have the hand improve, so the draws are minimal - just enough to offload the bad cards. Every drawn card represents the risk of spoiling the hand. So in single draw Lowball, with seven at the table, it is possible to run a little short of cards, but it will be unusual. In triple draw, with a reasonable number of players, running out of cards happens fairly often. In any such case, the dealer gathers all the mucked cards, reshuffles and re-burns, and then recycles.

The dealing practice in both varieties (as stated in the rules) is a player wanting up to four cards may receive them consecutively. If a fifth card is also desired, it is dealt after all the other players have received their draws (up to four cards) and then the fifth card is dealt. If the player requesting five cards is the last player, a card is burned between the fourth and fifth card. House rules may modify this procedure to limit draws to four.

Goofs in the Deal,

Exposed Cards. Exposed cards can be a problem. If a player purposefully exposes a card, that player's hand is dead. The player forfeits all blinds and antes. If a card is exposed by accident, say in a deal or a draw (whether discards or new cards), special rules apply: